On Common Ground

School Ties Trilogy #1

by Tracy Kelleher

When Lilah Evans graduated from Grantham U, she was ready to leave college behind and change the world. Now, at a crossroads, she's doing something she never wanted to attending her ten-year reunion. And that means running into Justin Bigelow.A decade ago, Justin was the big man on campus-Mr. Self-Involved himself. So why did he nominate Lilah for the Distinguished Alumni award? One thing that's clear this nostalgia-filled weekend, he isn't the partying jock she remembers.What's also clear is that the attraction that used to simmer between them is now more intense-and impossible to ignore. With the stakes higher, do they finally have the courage to go for it?

Genres: Romance

281 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2012

About the author

After graduating from Yale University, Tracy Kelleher spent the next few years working in Italy. She returned to the United States to study medieval history in graduate school at Cornell University, but decided that academic life was not for her. She migrated to the Big Apple, where she worked at an advertising agency. Fast-forward through marriage, two children, one dog, and freelance writing for newspapers and magazines. After her children entered school, she became a staff newspaper reporter and later the communications director for a non-profit organization that mediated disputes in Central and Eastern Europe. Eventually she returned to publishing as a magazine editor. Tracy sold her first romance to Kensington while she was a reporter and finally quit her day job after she found a home writing at Harlequin. Tracy values the flexible lifestyle that writing affords her. She has carried her laptop across three continents and swears that having to write in places such as Australia and Southern France has not hindered her ability to focus on her work. She currently lives in New Jersey and is hard at work on her next novel.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. I liked Lilah very much. When she left college she had a goal and a purpose and she made it happen. She came back to Grantham because she was being honored, even though she didn't feel she deserved it. She came, though, so she could make the contacts necessary to continue the work. Justin had nominated her because he felt she deserved it. He was also looking forward to seeing her, because he had cared for her back when they were in school, even though she was his roommate's girl. As they spent time together, they both came to realize that they had changed and started to care for the person the other had become. Both had challenges to meet during the time they were together, and had to learn that they had to share the bad with the good. I loved the other characters in the story, and I'm looking forward to their stories. I also enjoyed seeing Matt from "Falling for the Teacher".

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Après avoir lu le deuxième tome (avant le premier) et avoir été très déçue, je m'attendais à être torturée par cette lecture. Mais pas du tout ! L'histoire de Lilah et Justin est bien bien meilleure.

Lilah dirige une ONG qui vient en aide aux femmes du Congo. Elle a consacré dix ans de sa vie à donner tout ce qu'elle avait pour soutenir ces femmes, en danger dans leur pays en guerre. Pendant dix ans, elle a mis en place des hôpitaux itinérants, recherché des fonds pour faire vivre son association et donné de son temps pour aller à la rencontre de ces femmes, ses sœurs. Aujourd'hui, Lilah va recevoir un prix de son ancienne université pour tout le travail qu'elle a accompli. Mais aujourd'hui, après tant d'années, Lilah n'est pas sûre de mériter cette récompense quand sa passion, sa volonté et son engagement se sont émoussés. Elle est en pleine période de doute et de remise en question et ce retour dans son pays va lui permettre de réfléchir à ce qu'elle souhaite faire à présent.

Même si ce livre est une romance contemporaine, c'est aussi une magnifique histoire de remise en question. Après des années de dévouement pour la cause des autres, Lilah a perdu la foi. Et elle se sent coupable. Pourtant, quand on essaye de se mettre à sa place, on imagine bien qu'après 10 ans à lutter presque seule pour faire vivre une association vitale pour d'autres femmes, l'énergie est moins présente. On comprend ce qu'éprouve l'héroïne et l'on espère qu'elle réussira à retrouver un second souffle. Elle va d'ailleurs découvrir du soutien là où elle ne l'attendait pas. De Justin, son ancien camarade, dont elle a été amoureuse pendant ses années à la fac. Cet homme qui avait tout pour lui et qui est en fait, un être plus complexe qu'il n'y paraissait à l'époque. On sent que l'auteur a voulu, avec Justin, défendre une méthode d'apprentissage bien spécifique : elle insiste dessus à plusieurs reprises dans le livre. C'est parfois un peu lourd, mais l'histoire nous entraîne malgré tout.

Le point négatif de ce livre serait la longueur de certains passages qui alourdit le récit et émousse un peu notre envie de connaître la fin. Mais la bataille de Lilah contre elle-même est très intéressante et l'on est au final plutôt content de notre lecture.

[Darlene Torday · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book before but enjoyed just as much on a second read as the first time. The characters are well developed with a good plot that keeps the reader turning pages to see what will happen next.

[Harlequin Books]

Miniseries: School Ties
Category: Heart & Home

[Harlequin Books]

Miniseries: School Ties
Category: Heart & Home